Kumari Selja confident of being in running for Haryana CM after meeting Rahul Gandhi

Congress MP Kumari Selja on Thursday said the decision on the party’s chief ministerial candidate for Haryana rests with the party’s high command, hinting that her name would be among those considered.

"There will be some people in the consideration zone and I think Selja will be among them," she said in an interview with ANI, adding that the leadership would take factors like seniority and party work into account when making the decision.

"It is only for the high command to answer, and they will have to decide about the CM candidate... My commitment to the party has never been in question," Selja said, expressing confidence that her contributions to the party would not be overlooked.

Selja, a senior Congress leader and MP from Sirsa, had been largely absent from the party's campaign in recent days, instead focusing on her Lok Sabha constituency.

She met her party's leadership in Delhi on Thursday, the last day of campaigning for the Haryana Assembly election. This followed reports suggesting she was "upset" with the handling of party affairs in Haryana.

"I met Rahul Gandhi yesterday, not Sonia Gandhi... Elections are here, so discussions related to the polls, about the state – a lot of things are discussed," she said.

Selja downplayed speculation surrounding her absence from the campaign, asserting that the Congress was well-positioned for the upcoming polls.

“A lot of hard work went in, Rahul Gandhi himself worked hard. Priyanka Gandhi also came here, the Congress president also came here. What started with the Yatra of Rahul Gandhi made a lot of difference in the state. An atmosphere has set in, in the state,” she said.

The BJP is seeking a third consecutive term in power in Haryana, while Congress is hoping for a comeback after being out of power since 2014.

Polling in Haryana’s 90 constituencies will take place on October 5, and the results will be declared on October 8.

With inputs from agencies